


Zuko's Blindness behind the scar

by ZukoFanatic



Category: Avatar the Last Airbender - Fandom
Genre: Blind Zuko, The Gaang - Freeform, Zuko Angst, Zuko blind, zuko and the gang, zuko feels, zuko scar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-08-07 23:36:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16418204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZukoFanatic/pseuds/ZukoFanatic
Summary: What if Zuko was blinded in the Agni Kai with his father? How would he tell the Gaang when he joined them?! Set just before the Ember Island Players.





	1. Chapter 1

With blindness, came great struggles. Zuko knew this better than anyone, well except Toph. He felt like he had a special connection with Toph ever since he found out that she was also blind. However, no one else knew about his blindness.

He learned to cope with it and not let it consume him ever since that fated day. The Agni Kai...

Zuko shook his head. No. Stop. He told himself. He stopped himself thinking about it and continued collecting the trees spicy scented leaves in front of him. How he knew they were in front of him? Heat sense.

Zuko had honed his firebending skills along with the training from his Uncle to sense the heat of things around him. Each object with any noticeable heat within it or around it felt like a small heart beat. Zuko couldn't see, but with fire bending, he could feel things around him without even touching anything.

Despite this amazing power, Zuko still struggled with a few things. Such as navigating in the cold, as a firebender, the was only so much he could sense. Not everything was hot. That's why he particularly struggled in the North and South poles, not to mention the night, trying to navigate underneath the moon instead of the sun.

Without his heat sense he would be so lost, in a world of darkness. But thanks to firebending, he could feel the world around him.

Although today, was one of those days where he felt hopelessly lost. He had gone to get some tea leaves at the request of Katara, who wanted to make tea accompanying the dinner she was preparing. The obvious problem to him was that he couldn't see what leaves he was meant to get, it's too late to mention his blindness now.

He had originally formed the excuse, "I don't know what leaves to get." On the spot, only to get a piece of paper shoved in his hands with a picture of the leaf he was meant to collect.

Perfect. He couldn't read, so the paper was as useless as he was being right now. He was mindlessly picking leaves and smelling them, Katata had mentioned they smelt mildly spicy, but to Zuko's disappointment they all smelt equally spicy. 

Zuko was just silently hoping that he didn't acidentally take a sniff of one of Ember Islands many infamous deadly plants, that would be hard to explain.

The shaggy haired firebender had ended up taking a handful of leaves that smelt spicy enough for the rest of the group to handle, they should be fine to use for tea. If they weren't the correct leaf, which they probably weren't, he would just form an excuse. It would work out one way or another.

As he walked closer and closer to the old family home he felt the heat of the sun slowly fade behind him, being replaced with a cold moon looking down upon him. Meaning he should hurry before he had no source of heat to rely on.

When he arrived at the camp outside his old holiday home, the group was sitting around, to his relief, a newly lit fire. Katana was at the centre, cooking what smelt like vegetable stew.

Zuko awkwardly cleared his throat. "I got your leaves." With that short sentance he dropped the leaves next to Katara and joined the rest of the group in the circle. He ended up sitting next to Toph, who's familiar warmth felt comforting to be around, he found, each person had a different feeling warmth inside of them, it took a lot of concentration but it was worth it. 

As he sat down he heard Katata's voice, "Don't worry about it Zuko! Sokka found some in the opposite direction that way!" Zuko sensed her move arm upwards to point. In any other circumstance Zuko would have been annoyed that he put in all that effort for nothing, but in this case he was grateful that they wouldn't look at the "tea leaves" he found. Who knows what he put in that bag?

"Let's hope they're nothing like Cactus juice!" Aang chimmed in with a giggle. Katara and Toph joined in on the laughing. "Hey! That Cactus juice SAVED me from dehydration!" Sokka sulked as he crossed his arms. Suki began to giggle, "What's Cactus juice?" 

Katata began to pass around dinner to everyone, "It's a long story." And although Zuko couldn't see it, he presumed she said it with a smile on her face. 

"Long? Annoying and painful more like!" Toph's loud voice suprising him from his side. The chatter and laughter continued while they ate, Zuko stayed quiet thanking Agni that they used the leaves Sokka found. He didn't know what he'd do if they discovered his blindness.

He had decided to keep his blindness a secret from the group, at least until they had defeated his fath-- no, Ozai. That bastard wasn't his father, what father would blind his own son? For speaking out of turn, he gripped his hands thinking about it. 

The group would definatly think he was weak if they found out his blindness, he didn't want them to think of him differently, not after proving himself to all of them. Besides, he had no right to blatantly tell them all he was blind, not after all the suffering he and his nation had put them through. Toph was blind and she didn't go on and on about it, she cracked the occasional blind joke but even Zuko had to admit they were funny.

The teen was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts to Katara calling his name. "Zuko, what is this?" He heard a hint of confusion in her voice as he felt her shuffle through the contents of the bag he put on the floor earlier.

His blood went cold and drained from his face. He never chucked the darn bag away. 

 

[Authors note: I hope you liked the first Chapter! I put a lot of effort into it and I hope it was worth it! I'll try and get the next chapter up really soon I promise!!]


	2. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Zuko's secret out? How will he deal with it? 
> 
> It's been ages since I've updated, sorry! I've been really busy and I'm sorry if my writing style has changed a lot of stuff has happened. 
> 
> This is short but next chapter will be pretty long so ,,UwU,,

"Umm, uhh", only sounds of hesitation came from a panicked Zuko as the seconds he took to reply seemed like hours to him.

He swalloed and finally began, "Well, the thi-" before he was suddenly cut of by a victorious screech from Sokka. "I Knew it! I knew it!" He sounded more surprised than victorious, and that could only mean one thing. Zuko's heart dropped to his stomach in an instant. 

They couldn't know? Could they?

"Don't jump to conclusions Sokka! And while your at it could you at least try and be more sensitive." Katata snapped at Sokka before turning back to Zuko, "Zuko, is there somthing you want to tell us? You can tell us anything, you know that right? We're family." Her voice was thickly laced with concern which immediately made Zuko tense up.

Damn it, he felt so weak. So helpless. This is what he feared. Zuko's mind raced for anything he could say, if it's true that they knew, then what could he say?

His whole body began to feel hot and cold with the pressure, "N-no! I don't know what your talking about!" He shouted, husky voice raised.

He expected Katara to start questioning him again but instead he heard Aang speak up from the other side of the circle, "Guys! I told you we shouldn't have pressured him! He should tell us when HE'S okay with it!" 

"But then he would never admit it!" Katara instantly argued back.

"Actually, I'm with Aang on this one." Suki added.

Zuko's brow ceased in confusion, they were planning this confrontation? This whole time they were planning it? As the bickering between each person continued Zuko's eyes widened in panic. 

They were going to see him as weak, when Katara spoke to him with that soft voice... It gave it away, they all thought he was weak and helpless.

He was eventually brought out of his trance by one voice, "What's going on? What's Sparky hiding?" Toph's voice.

Silence consumed the group.

"He's blind." After a while Sokka informed her.

Zuko turned to face the direction Sokka's voice was coming from, "What?! No I'm not! Why would you even think that?!" He grit his teeth and clenched his fists even harder. Was he really this obvious about it? Doubt consumed him until he realised he was slightly shaking.

At that moment he felt so many things. He didn't slip up, he was setup by his friends. Anger. Guilt. Disappointment. Panic.

"Well for starters-" Sokka started to reply.

"Your lying." Zuko sensed her stand up and point a finger in his general direction.

Sokka went quiet, not expecting Toph's sudden interruption. 

"Sparky," She paused and blew her hair with a puff, "wanna walk with me." Toph began to walk away from the group and onto a main path not bothering to wait for Zuko.

It wasn't an offer, it was a command. Zuko realised this, he nodded and quickly caught up with Toph before he lost track of her heat. It was quite a comforting warmth. 

Silently thanking Toph in his head for saving him from that situation, he took in a breath to talk. But then released it, he had no idea what to even say. 

"You have a lot of explaining to do Sparky."


End file.
